New Orleans is awarded the Super Bowl in 2013

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Tuesday that New Orleans was back in the business of hosting Super Bowls, the contingent of sports executives and business leaders who had worked for the past year to snag the country's premier sports event hugged, smiled and congratulated one another.

Saints owner Tom Benson did them all one better: He leaped about "four feet" in the air.

"Emotions were running us pretty good, " Benson said Tuesday. "Everybody genuinely seemed to be very happy that New Orleans was going to get the Super Bowl. They seemed genuinely happy about it. When you look around, people had smiles on their faces and clapping and things like this. And not these (New Orleans) guys, I'm talking about the other owners out there.

"We're just thrilled about what's going on. We're getting a new Superdome. Now we're going to get a Super Bowl on top of that. It couldn't be any more exciting than that."

The 32 team owners in the National Football League on Tuesday picked New Orleans over South Florida and Phoenix as the site of the 2013 Super Bowl -- that's XLVII in Roman numeral parlance -- handing the Crescent City its record-tying 10th Super Bowl.

New Orleans hasn't hosted the championship game since 2002, when the New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams on a last-second field goal.

Ever since the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation submitted its bid in March to play host to Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, 2013, New Orleans has been considered a sentimental favorite.

And when the Saints and state of Louisiana reached agreement on a long-term lease deal that would keep the Saints playing at the Superdome through 2025 and provide an $85 million renovation to the Dome, New Orleans was viewed as an outright favorite.

'Tom delivered'

But the Sports Foundation and the Saints left little to chance that NFL owners would tab New Orleans as the host site.

That's precisely why Benson, who has owned the Saints since 1985, spent much of the past couple of months politicking his colleagues, trying to coax them to vote for New Orleans. And that's precisely why the Sports Foundation and the Saints pulled in business leaders and integrated them into their bid, which has an estimated budget of $12 million.

Throughout the process New Orleans was considered the sentimental favorite to land the game, especially if the state and Saints could reach a long-term Superdome lease agreement and the Dome could receive some renovations.

"People have a lot of respect for Tom Benson," said Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, whose hometown lost out to New Orleans. "And Tom delivered for New Orleans. He's been there and people respect what he's done over the years. He's stayed steadfast behind New Orleans even in the worst of times, and that kind of swayed a lot of owners. When you have someone like that that is so committed and who has been in the league for 25 years I think that means something."

Goodell agreed.

"The membership heard from three great cities today and had some terrific alternatives," Goodell said. "But I think this is a great statement about the spirit and people of New Orleans and the great relationship the Saints and the NFL have in that community."

From the moment the New Orleans contingent came away from its 15-minute presentation in front of the NFL owners Tuesday afternoon, the group knew it had more than a fighter's chance.

According to several people in the room during the presentation, Rod West, president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans, and Stephen Perry, president and CEO of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, nailed their presentation.

West and Perry played a video showing the advantages of playing the game in New Orleans -- food, hotels, the French Quarter -- and alternated speeches during breaks in the video.

"We were nervous, but positive because the presentation went flawless," said Jay Cicero, president of the Sports Foundation. "Rod West and Stephen Perry gave a great presentation. All the preparation was worth it."

The New Orleans contingent came to the NFL owners meeting with a game plan that they drafted and rehearsed countless times. But they had to think quickly Monday afternoon after a meeting with NFL representatives, who separately gave feedback to all three potential hosts on their bids.

Cicero and his team were told all three had similar bids and that the competition was too close to call Monday.

That was until New Orleans spiced up its bid.

The Saints offered the NFL extra suites for the game and offered use of some of their signage at the Dome. Also, the Sports Foundation promised an owners' dinner with celebrity chefs.

Goodell announced that New Orleans was getting the Super Bowl just a few minutes after each city made its presentation to the owners. The league would not reveal the exact voting totals or whether more than one round of votes was required.

Jindal revels in 'huge win'

Moments after the announcement, Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke on the phone with Benson and Superdome Commission chairman Ron Forman.

"This is a huge win for New Orleans, but also the entire state of Louisiana. There's no doubt that the spirit of our people who persevered through four storms in just over three years played a critical role in securing the Super Bowl, " Jindal said.

"This win shows that New Orleans is a premier host for major sports and entertainment events -- and will be a perfect backdrop when the eyes of the world are upon us. Indeed, " Jindal said, "Louisiana is committed to making sure the 2013 Super Bowl is unparalleled."

Tom Benson and Rita Benson LeBlanc

The NFL title game becomes the biggest in a string of major sporting events that New Orleans will host.

New Orleans will host the BCS championship game in 2012, the men's Final Four in 2012 and the women's Final Four in 2013. Another NBA All-Star Game in 2014 or 2015 is possible.

But it is the Super Bowl, which brings with it an estimated $300 million in economic impact to the state plus worldwide television exposure, that was most coveted.

"It's the single biggest event we could ever land," Perry said. "What makes it even more important is that the NFL does more due diligence than any other corporation in the country. This serves as a ringing endorsement from them on the capacity of New Orleans to handle the most watched event on the planet.

"We've had so many of the big sporting events in town during the last year or two, but this was the final piece. This closes the circle. Every one of the major sporting events has either been or committed to New Orleans. And that sends a message that our tourism capacity is fully back and can handle anything in the country."

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Nakia Hogan can be reached at nhogan@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.